Music

Now Hear This, Vol. VI

You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension of A/V. This is the middle ground between mediocre and too-good-to-be-true, between something called "reggae" and the sound angels emit. You are traveling deep into the realm of rad tuneage. Next stop, Now Hear This!

Straight outta Oakl&

Zachary James Watkins and Marshall Tramell aka Black Spirituals bring "black resonance" to Spirit Abuse (1103 Fourth Street NW) tonight. Our interview "Postmodern Black Spirituals" yielded more insight than we could fit in print. For instance, the project's name originates from Watkins finding a dusty cassette in a closet; the recording within was a 1970s lecture by activist, scholar and singer Bernice Johnson Reagon on the roots music of black slaves in America. Black Spirituals tour in support of their forthcoming SIGE Records cassette Of Deconstruction. Five bucks gets you in to the most intriguing concert of the week. The sympathetic vibrations amp up at 9pm, and Bigawatt and Mesa Ritual open the show. I'll see you there.

On Sunday night at Sunshine Theater (120 Central SW), Geoff Tate's Queensrÿche—featuring former members of Dio, Ozzy and AC/DC—brings a mishmash of nostalgia and brand-new heavy. Read Moss' Show Up! column to learn more about the drama surrounding Tate's physical and verbal abuse of his bandmates and consequent firing, the ensuing legal battle and future of Queensrÿche. According to our in-house metal expert, this show will not be a "pathetic and flaccid mockery of itself." Irish rock outfit The Voodoos open this all-ages concert, and presale tickets are $25.